A Herefordshire town has made parking free in a central car park in order to help struggling local businesses.

The Red Meadow car park off Brookend Street in Ross-on-Wye will allow free parking for a maximum of four hours a day until July 19, according to Herefordshire Council which owns and manages it.

Car park users will still need to display a ticket from the machine, or register on the RingGo app. Parking sessions longer than four hours will be charged at £6.

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Herefordshire Council says this is “a response to the works undertaken by Welsh Water”, an apparent reference to the ongoing roadworks in Brookend Street and its continuation Broad Street, which have disrupted trade in the town.

The works became necessary after damage to the road and pavements and to adjacent businesses from flash floods last month.

The council said its cabinet member for roads Barry Durkin “has decided that being able to offer some free car parking is a suitable remediation offer to the retail outlets of Ross-on-Wye”.

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It said it had been prompted to take the move by local ward councillors and by Ross town council.

Welcoming the decision, a town council spokesperson said: “We encourage everybody to take advantage of the free parking and come into town to support our local traders.”

The town council has meanwhile prepared its own “recovery strategy” for the area, involving social media posts and online advertising, community events and more decoration and public art around the town centre.